American Hazelnut Company growers have farms across the Upper Midwest, in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. The Midwest industry is growing every year, but we are still relatively small. About 99% of domestic hazelnut production happens in Oregon, where theycultivate a European hazelnut variety (see "What sets the Midwest hazelnut industry apart?"). Worldwide, the US ranks third for hazelnut production, with 70% of supply coming from Turkey, and 20% from Italy.
Hazelnuts in the wild have a much broader distribution.The American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) spans across the eastern half of the United States and Canada, including the Upper Midwest. The Common Hazel (Corylus avellana) grows across most of Europe into Asia, while the Beaked Hazelnut (Colylus cornuta) grows along the northern US border and Pacific Northwest. Large Filberts (Corylus maxima) are native to southeastern Europe and western Asia.
